Group dog therapy – sessions with a therapy dog

A therapy dog responds to a person immediately, without judgement and without any history – which is why contact with it can be the simplest possible beginning. Tasks that seem boring in an exercise room (movement, speaking out loud, giving a command, an obstacle course, a hand exercise) become meaningful with a dog around, and people are happy to repeat them. It is a well-known effect: motivation grows because the child is not “doing an exercise” but doing something for the dog.

In the sessions we work on contact and cooperation: giving commands together and mini-tasks with the dog, calm touching and stroking, paying attention to the animal’s signals, work in pairs with assigned roles, and finally winding down. Everything is led by someone trained in dog-assisted therapy together with a dog trained to work with people.

The sessions can be especially helpful for withdrawn and hyperactive children, for people who are afraid of dogs (here we work in very small steps, always at the participant’s pace) and for people experiencing loneliness. We match groups by age, after an initial conversation – including questions about allergies and previous experiences with animals.